


buy no sorrows

by yeswayappianway



Series: no time for losers [1]
Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman (Comics), DCU
Genre: Family Bonding, Gen, Sports, Thanksgiving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-30 01:38:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19842874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeswayappianway/pseuds/yeswayappianway
Summary: Steph announces, “But since now I know you do have TV, I’m going to go watch the game.”Jason sticks his head in from the kitchen. “Oh shit, are we finally going to do Thanksgiving like real people?”“The Cowboys game just started, right?” Duke asks with interest.Shrugging, Steph says, “I just want to watch football on Thanksgiving.”





	buy no sorrows

**Author's Note:**

> this takes place in an AU where the whole batfam gets along well enough to have a holiday together because that's what i wanted
> 
> title from Lookin' Out My Back Door, by Creedence Clearwater Revival (someday someone is going to call me on how many of my titles are Peak Dad Rock and i will have no defense)

“You know, all the times I’ve been here, I don’t think I’ve _ever_ seen anyone just watching TV,” Steph comments. “You do _have_ TV, right? That monstrosity isn’t, like, only hooked up to a DVD player and too many game systems?”

“It’s a Blu-Ray player, actually,” Bruce says drily. The corner of his mouth quirks up when Steph glares at him. “Yes, Stephanie, we do get television.”

“How was I supposed to know?” she protests as Alfred takes the last set of dishes off the table, Dick trailing behind him ineffectually. “Maybe this is one of those weird rich people things where you’re too good for normal shit!”

Tim cracks up. Steph pointedly turns away from him, and announces, “But since now I know you _do_ have TV, I’m going to go watch the game.”

Jason sticks his head in from the kitchen. “Oh shit, are we finally going to do Thanksgiving like real people?”

“The Cowboys game just started, right?” Duke asks with interest.

Shrugging, Steph says, “I don’t care who’s playing, I just want to watch football on Thanksgiving. You coming?”

Duke nods and stands up to follow her, leaving behind Damian who looks betrayed at being abandoned.

“I’ll be there in a few minutes, don’t let everyone else hog the couches,” Jason yells after them.

As they head toward the TV room, Steph hears Damian saying, “American football is an ungraceful activity, barely even a sport.”

There’s a brief moment of panic when they reach the TV and neither Steph nor Duke has any idea how to turn it on and switch it to broadcast channels, but Tim has silently joined them, and he gently takes the remotes out of their hands and has it up and running in a matter of seconds.

“Thanks, Tim,” Duke says gratefully. Tim just nods before curling up in an armchair and seemingly passing out immediately. The two of them settle into the couch. The TV is showing a commercial, and Duke squints at it. “Is that a—”

“A talking bagel? Yeah,” Steph says happily. “I love Thanksgiving.”

“What does that have to do with Thanksgiving?” Cass says, jumping over the back of the couch to sit next to her.

“It’s like, a thing on Thanksgiving, to sit around and watch TV, usually football, and there’s so many commercial breaks in football games that usually you end up watching at least as many commercials as you do actual game, and I don’t know, it’s just…” she waves her hand at the TV helplessly. “It’s part of the _experience_.”

“A terrible experience,” grumbles Damian, who’s being shepherded into the room by a faintly amused looking Bruce. Possibly at the fact that Damian is letting himself be pushed around the house. _Steph_ is definitely amused by that.

Duke pats the couch on his other side. “No, look, football is all about time management and working within imposed constraints, c’mere, I’ll show you.”

Damian still looks disdainful, but he takes the seat, and Duke starts talking. “So the thing about football is that even when you’re not actively making a play, you’re working the clock…”

Cass looks at Steph curiously. “Is that what you like about football?”

“Nah,” Steph says. “I just think it’s exciting. And I like watching sports with other people,” she adds, looking around the room. Dick has come in and, like Tim, immediately started to doze off. _Unlike_ Tim, he’s chosen to just lie down on the soft carpet of the floor. “It’s a good group activity.” A good _family_ activity, she doesn’t say. Steph remembers seeing commercials and TV shows where families sat around the TV and watched the game, and the longing she felt as a kid seeing that, thinking she would never get to have it herself. Maybe Cass sees some of that emotion on her face, because her expression softens, and she leans against Steph’s shoulder.

“Who’s Dallas playing?” Jason asks as he comes through the doorway.

“Uh,” Steph stalls, realizing the commercials had ended while she was talking to Cass.

“Star City,” says Bruce, wrinkling his nose a little. Alfred must have come in behind Jason, because he walks over to the chair Bruce is sitting in, and stands behind him, one hand resting briefly on Bruce’s shoulder before saying something Steph can’t hear, and then moving away. 

Steph kind of wants to ask Cass what they said, but she’s distracted by Jason flopping down across all of them on the couch. Her own “What the fuck!” mixes with Damian’s wordless indignation and Duke’s “Hey!” which are shortly followed by Jason yelping as Cass reaches over and somehow dumps him onto the floor.

As he jumps back up and nearly tackles Cass, Steph lets herself sink back into the cushions of the couch and the familiar chaos around her. No matter what led to her being here, no matter what may or may not happen in the future, for now, she has a family to be with on Thanksgiving and bicker about sports with. For now, that’s all she wants.

**Author's Note:**

> come talk to me about the batfam and sports (or other things) on tumblr at wildmagicplant!


End file.
